Tributes outside the Victory Road home where six Philpott children died in a house fire. Their parents, Mick and Mairead Philpott, below left, and Paul Moseley, are standing trial accused of their manslaughter.

Paul Mosley

Tributes outside the Victory Road home where six Philpott children died in a house fire. Their parents, Mick and Mairead Philpott, below left, and Paul Moseley, are standing trial accused of their manslaughter.

The case against three people accused of killing six children in a Derby house fire has opened this morning.Parents Mick Philpott, his wife Mairead, and family friend Paul Mosley, have pleaded not guilty to six counts of manslaughter.4.15pm After his release following his first arrest, Mosley told friends he knew more than he had let on to the police, the court was told.When asked by a friend whether the Philpotts were behind the fire, Mosley said: “I don’t know, but if they are it’s just something gone wrong,” Prosecutor Richard Latham QC told the court.Mosley then said: “What if I told you we actually rehearsed it six weeks prior to it happening?,” the jury heard.He told a friend a plan was set for him to rescue the children from the blaze, the court heard.Mosley said he was to kick the back door in while the Philpotts ran out of the front of the house and he was then to go upstairs to save the children, Mr Latham told the court.Mosley said it was because the Philpotts wanted a bigger house, and went on to tell how his friend Mairead Philpott wrote a suicide note which said she would take the children with her next time, Mr Latham said.“Mairead was to take the blame but it didn’t go to plan, did it?” he added.Mosley was rearrested following forensic examination of the petrol.Total petrol residue was found on his clothing, Mr Latham said.He told police he filled up his car on May 7 but at a BP garage, so he did not know how Total petrol got on his clothes.In police interview, there was a “blanket denial” from Mosley over having anything to do with petrol or a fire at Victory Road.The trial has now been adjourned for the day.4pm The couple were charged by police on May 30 in connection with the deaths and were allowed to meet just after. A 15-minute conversation between them was recorded.Prosecutor Richard Latham QC said it began by Philpott asking his wife: "'Are you sticking to your story?'"She replied: "'Um.'""'You're definitely sticking with the story?'" he asked her."'That's why the thingy, she's referring to the solicitor, said to just not comment.'"The court heard Philpott replied: "'No, that's right, don't say anything now. Don't say anything.“‘You did not do it, don't worry baby we'll walk through it, I promise you that, unless you want me to blab about it?'"She replied: "‘No.'"The court heard how Mairead performed a sex act on Mosley while Mick was in the hotel room at the Premier Inn on May 19."Mairead would do whatever Michael [Mick] asked," Mr Latham told the court.Michael was heard on the recordings telling his wife: "I'm proud of you because you didn't want to do it."They were doing their best to keep Mosley on side, Mr Latham told the jury. But when the night of the fire was brought up, Philpott was heard to say: "Change the subject, shut up, shut up."Mr Latham told the court the couple suspected the room had been bugged. 3.40pm Prosecutor Richard Latham QC told jurors that covert recordings were made of conversations that took place between the Philpotts in the hotel where they were staying after the fire.They had been authorised by the Surveillance Commissioner, he added, and were not done on the “whim” of a police officer.The recordings ran from 7.35pm on May 15 until just after 10am on May 29, a period of two weeks.He said the Philpotts suspected they were being monitored and lowered their voices on the phone.“One thing that is said to one visitor to the room was, ’do you realise this room could be bugged?’,” Mr Latham said.“Why do you need to whisper to each other if you’ve not done anything wrong at all?”Philpott is heard to say to his wife ahead of talking to the police: “'Make sure you stick to your story. This is when they start coming out with stuff to trip you up'."Mr Latham added: “It is clear they were aware they were going to be asked by the police to come up with a detailed account of events.”After police interviews, Mr Latham said Philpott asked his wife: “What did you say to them? Tell me what you said to them.“What did you say about how many times I went up the ladders? What did you say about how many times I tried to get in?”His wife is said to have replied on the recordings: “I told them you tried everything.”3.25pm The court heard how neighbours tried to rescue the children from the burning house but were beaten back by the smoke and flames. When the bodies of the children were carried out of the house by police, Philpott ran forward and had to be restrained, Prosecutor Richard Latham QC said."It must have been quite clear the plan had gone horribly wrong," Mr Latham saidPhilpott was heard telling people that his former mistress, Lisa Willis, had threatened to kill them or to set fire to the house. "She was being set up as the culprit," Mr Latham said. Philpott told neighbours the children were in the back bedroom of the house. "Is this where they were expected to be as part of the plan to rescue them?,” Mr Latham said. Philpott told police he was playing snooker with Mosley before the fire broke out. He said Mosley left before 2am and Mick and Mairead fell asleep watching a film, but they were woken by a smoke alarm and he discovered a large fire in the hall. He called 999 and handed the phone to his wife before climbing a ladder in the back garden and smashing a hole in the back window. He said the black smoke beat him back. Police reported his behaviour following the fire as "unusual", the court heard. One constable said Philpott showed "no emotion" and acted as if at a social event. At the hospital, onlookers described him as looking "spotlessly clean" for someone who had been in a house fire, Mr Latham said. Meanwhile his wife was seen to be distraught and constantly crying at the hospital.Philpott was overheard at the hospital saying: “It wasn't meant to end like this." He and Mosley were seen to go off to a far end of the hospital for about half an hour. "What were they talking about?" Mr Latham said. 2.30pm Philpott and Mairead allegedly started the fire at their semi-detached home after making reports to the police that his former mistress, Lisa Willis, had been threatening him and his family.The court heard that on April 6, Mick Philpott received a call from his wife while taking friends to a darts game in his minibus.Philpott told his friends: "Sorry guys, someone is threatening to torch the house with the kids in it," Prosecutor Richard Latham QC told the court."This was all nonsense. This was all a way of setting what had become a plan," Mr Latham added.“It became apparent to him that Lisa was going to do what she wanted and not what he required or demanded. He began to set her up.”Philpott told friends his plan would “slam her where it hurts”, the jury heard."We say that this was a plan that went horribly wrong and resulted in total tragedy," Mr Latham said.He told the court that Ms Willis denies threatening to torch the house.The court heard Philpott began to hatch the plan after Ms Willis, who first met him when she was aged around 17, decided she was not happy with the domestic set-up and left the family home on February 11."We say that this event was the catalyst for everything that was to follow," Mr Latham said.He said Philpott was deeply troubled by her leaving, to the point that he had become depressed and even tried to take his own life.He steadily became “obsessed with getting Lisa and the kids back” and part of his distress was because of the simple fact that Ms Willis had left him.“He is very controlling and very manipulative, he will do anything to get his own way. He simply will not tolerate dissent,” jurors heard.During the eight-minute 999 call, made from Philpott’s mobile phone at 3.46am on May 11, the distress and panic caused by the chaotic scene could be heard when both Philpott and his wife talked to the operator.He could be heard crying and saying: “I can’t get in.”His wife put her hand up to her eyes and wiped away tears as the recording was played.Mr Latham said that while she was talking to 999 operators the fire was out of control and police also arrived on the scene. During the prosecution opening, the court heard details of the Philpotts’ life together with Ms Willis, who moved into the house not long after meeting Philpott.While Ms Willis and her children were living at the three-bedroom council house in Victory Road - which had a games room including full-length snooker table - most of the children normally slept upstairs while Mairead Philpott slept in either the living room or the conservatory.Her husband slept in a caravan outside with Ms Willis.The adults had a sexual relationship but Philpott often said he was unhappy with his wife, jurors heard.He said he wanted to divorce her and marry Ms Willis while still wishing for all three of them to live in the house together.“Mairead was Lisa’s lapdog, Lisa was who he wanted,” Mr Latham told the court.Ms Willis became unhappy with the relationship, Mr Latham said, but did not express her feelings to Philpott because she was worried about his reaction.He had in the past attacked her with a piece of wood, claiming that the father of her first child was her sister’s partner.“Michael Philpott was convinced she was having an affair with everyone,” Mr Latham said. “She was not allowed to speak to another man.”"Unbeknown to Michael Philpott, Lisa Willis got to the point where she found the whole domestic set-up unacceptable."She knew that to simply announce to Michael Philpott that she found the relationship set-up unacceptable would provoke a singularly unpleasant reaction."He was the one who made the decisions, the women did not."On Saturday February 11, Ms Willis told him she was taking her children swimming and did not return home, the jury heard.She stayed with her sister for a while before moving to a women’s refuge and then eventually into her own council accommodation.2pm Mick Philpott started the blaze as part of a “plan” to frame his ex-girlfriend after becoming locked in a custody battle with her, the court has heard.Philpott, along with his wife Mairead, allegedly started the fire at their semi-detached home after making reports to the police that his former partner, Lisa Willis, had been threatening him and his family.There were emotional scenes during their manslaughter trial at Nottingham Crown Court today as the 999 call made by the couple as the fire took hold was played to the jury.Philpott stood and tried to leave the dock saying “I can’t listen to it” before being made to sit down by security officers.He spent the remaining minutes sobbing, with his head bowed and hands over his ears as the call played out. 1.15pm: The court heard that Lisa Willis met Philpott when she was 17 or 18 and he was about 45.She already had son Jordan and they moved into the Victory Road house a short time after meeting Philpott."Her sexual relationship with Michael Philpott started after she had been living there about three weeks," Mr Latham said."Almost from the outset he sought to exert total control over her."Her wages from a cleaning job were paid into his bank account, as were her benefits.When she decided she could no longer remain in the relationship she went to stay with her sister, Amanda, before staying in a women's refuge.She returned to the home with a friend on February 14 to collect clothes for her and the children and was challenged by Philpott."There was an incident on the doorstep, Philpott manifesting huge aggression and the police were called," Mr Latham said."What she had done challenged the very core of his attitude to his family and his women."She had stood up to him, he was no longer in control and that was absolutely unacceptable to him."12.25pm: Prosecutor Richard Latham QC said the family shared an unconventional lifestyle – Philpott, 56, his 31-year-old wife Mairead, and his mistress Lisa Willis, 28, all lived in the same house together.He said that while Ms Willis and her children were living at the three-bed house in Victory Road most of the children normally slept upstairs while Mrs Philpott slept in either the living room or the conservatory.Mick Philpott slept in a caravan outside with Ms Willis.The adults had a sexual relationship but Philpott had often said he was unhappy with his wife, jurors heard."He often expressed the view he preferred his relationship with Lisa Willis to that he had with his wife Mairead," Mr Latham said."He had spoken of divorcing Mairead - not separating from her but divorcing her - in order that he could make Lisa Willis his wife."He wanted to change their status but he wanted them both to still live in the house."Ms Willis had become unhappy with the relationship, Mr Latham said, but had not expressed her feelings to Philpott because she was worried about his reaction."Unbeknown to Michael Philpott, Lisa Willis got to the point where she found the whole domestic set-up unacceptable."She knew that to simply announce to Michael Philpott that she found the relationship set-up unacceptable would provoke a singularly unpleasant reaction."He was the one who made the decisions, the women did not."On Saturday, February 11, Ms Willis told him she was taking her children swimming and did not return home, the jury heard."We say that this event was the catalyst for everything that was to follow," Mr Latham said.He said Philpott was deeply troubled by the fact Ms Willis had left him and taken his children."He wanted the children back with or without her. He just wanted the children."Court proceedings began in due course and on the morning of the fire, which happened in the early hours, Ms Willis and Philpott had been due in court to discuss residency of the children.12pm: Prosecutor Richard Latham QC told the jury it was a "whodunnit trial."He said the jurors had to decide if the fire was an inside job or was started by someone else. Plans of Victory Road and the house where the Philpotts lived were shown to the jury. They heard that the three-bedroom semi-detached home, owned by Derby Homes, had a games room with a full-length snooker table and a conservatory. A caravan and a minibus were parked in the driveway, blocking access down the side of the house at the time of the fire. 11.45am: Mr Latham QC told jurors they were trying and would ultimately decide the verdict of the case on evidence that the actions of the defendants to any "sober and reasonable person" were unlawful because starting the fire with the children in the house would put them at substantial risk."This is not a murder trial," he said."What is alleged is that these children died as a result of the unlawful acts of these defendants who, we say, were acting together in a joint enterprise, setting a house fire."They are criminally responsible for the deaths as a result of setting the fire for some motive, for some other perceived advantage."11.40am: The couple started the blaze as part of a “plan that went horribly wrong”, the court hears.Mick and Mairead Philpott allegedly started the fatal fire on May 11 last year.A total of 11 children also lived in the property – six were those of Mick and Mairead Philpott, while four were his children with Ms Willis. Another child was Ms Willis's with a different father.Mick and Mairead Philpott’s children - Jade, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13 - all perished after the fire which engulfed their home as they slept in their beds.The couple, along with a third defendant, 46-year-old Paul Mosley, have all denied six separate counts of manslaughter in relation to the deaths.At the start of their trial at Nottingham Crown Court today, prosecutor Richard Latham QC told the jury of six men and six women that the Philpotts, Ms Willis, and the 11 children had all lived in the house together until February 11 last year.He said the fire, three months later, was no accident and had been started using petrol in the hallway of the house."We say that this was a plan that went horribly wrong and resulted in total tragedy," Mr Latham said. “The case involves the tragic death of six children in a house fire in Derby.“The facts in the case are deeply distressing from the first and you need to approach them calmly and objectively.“We say it involved a joint-enterprise, a plan that went horribly wrong and ended in a terrible tragedy.”11.05am: Mick Philpott is wearing a black suit, white and blue checked shirt and a patterned blue tie.Mairead Philpott is in a black top. Paul Mosley is wearing a black coat and jumper.11am: A jury of six men and six women has been chosen.They were told that the trial would last "at least six weeks" and might even spill over into Easter at the end of March.

Philpott sat in court yesterday dressed in a grey suit, white shirt and dark pink tie. His wife was wearing a black jumper.

Mosley sat behind them in the dock dressed in a black coat and black jumper.

Justice Kate Thirlwall, who is presiding over the case, warned the potential 18 jurors not to discuss the case with anyone outside the jury room or to research it online.

She said: "Some of you, I know, will have smart phones in your pockets and I know the internet is very much part and parcel of everyday life.

"But it is essential that the 12 of you that are picked deal with the facts of the case from what you hear inside the court room and not on the internet. Do not look at anything to with this case on the internet."

In court yesterday, on the first day of the trio's trial, a list of the names of 103 potential witnesses was read out.

These include police officers, the defendants themselves and neighbours of the Philpotts from Victory Road.

In addition, another 39 names of people who also may be called to give evidence was handed to the initial panel of 60 jurors.

Judge Thirlwall told them: "The case against Michael Philpott, Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosley involves the deaths of six children.

"The victims are the six children of Michael and Mairead Philpott who all died following a fire at their home in May last year."

And she said that the six people not selected to be part of the final 12 jurors would be "asked to remain until the end of the prosecution's opening of the case".

She said: "There is considerable interest in this case and I ask you again not to look on the internet at anything to do with it."

Court One, at Nottingham Crown Court, has a press bench that normally seats six journalists.

But such is the demand for media coverage, 16 spaces have been allocated to members of the press inside the court room, each one carrying a signed that says "reserved".

An additional nine spaces have been set aside, again by strict allocation, inside the press room at the court.

Last week a TV was put up in the room and the trial is being screened through on a videolink.

Yesterday, TV camera vans were parked round the back of the court, including the BBC, ITV and Sky.

The remaining seats inside the public gallery in Court One, another 25 spaces, have been reserved for family and friends of the defendants.

Each of the three defendants has a senior and junior barrister representing them.

Richard Latham QC and James House appear for the Crown Prosecution Service.

The discussions and legal arguments spoken about in court yesterday are not allowed to be published until the end of the trial.

On the day of the fire, emergency services were called to 18 Victory Road at about 4am. The Philpotts were arrested on May 29, while Mosley was not arrested and charged until November 1.

Derby came out in mourning for the funeral of the six children, in June last year, when each of them were taken to St Mary's Church, in Bridge Gate, in horse-drawn carriages. They are buried at Nottingham Road cemetery in Chaddesden.

The trial continues.

ONE OF COUNTRY'S TOP JUDGES TO PRESIDE OVER TRIAL

DAME Justice Thirlwall will be presiding over the case for the length of the trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

Dame Thirlwall is one of the top judges in the country, sitting in the High Court as part of the Queen's Bench Division since 2010.

She is one of two presiding judges in the Midlands circuit who are assigned some of the of most challenging cases.

Educated at St Anthony's School, Sunderland, before studying at Bristol University, the 55-year-old was called to the bar in 1982 and was made a QC in 1999.

Since becoming a member of the High Court she has ruled on a number of high-profile cases.

Sitting as an appeal judge on the case of a mother who was jailed for smacking her children, Dame Thirlwall, along with two other judges, freed the woman in October 2012.

She also gave Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan cricketer jailed for match-fixing, leave to appeal against his sentence.